Opinions on 3 possibilities for my first handgun?

Also why is the .45 your caliber of choice? It's great, but if you can't afford a 1911, you should look into the .40 S&W if you're going to go in the direction of Glock, Springfield, Sig, etc. Its a good cartridge and it's getting cheaper and more available. (at least here)

I've only shot a couple of handguns, using 9mm and .45 ACP rounds. A friend suggested that I try it and it seemed fine, so I stuck with that.

I have been lurking quite a bit in the forums and this is a very interesting topic. i grew up with handguns and rifles and have taught a lot of folks to shoot with both. mainly teaching was in the army trying desperatly to unwash badhabits out of folks who recieved minimal training and never fired a weapon before is difficult at best.

the problem with jumping right in with a handgun is you have no base of knowledge for marksmanship. pistols are difficult to shoot well regardless of make. it does take some time to learn to shoot and i highly recomend starting with a rifle especially if you have never fired a weapon before at all. a .22LR the ruger 10/22 being an excellent place to start. they are very forgiving cheap to shoot and seldom have issues. this will allow you to learn the basics of sight alignment and basic marksmanship. once you have a grasp of that then start thinking about a .22LR pistol.

one of the biggest hurdles people put in front of themselves is just picking up a big bore pistol or even a medium or small one. and trying desperatly to learn one of the most difficult tasks in shooting sports.

i would strongly recomend finding someone to teach you the basics of marksmanship weapon handling and such. my father taught me and i learned from folks i met afterwards and self taught the rest. point being if you jump right to a big bore weapon your hamstringing yourself if it is the first weapon you have ever used.

to a new shooter a big 45 or a 9mm can be a frustrating thing at best when you shoot and hit nothing or shoot and the weapon is just unpleasent for you. as others have said go to a range where you can rent various weapons. if your not going to take the time to learn and desperatly want that handcannon then try before you buy is the best way.

my recomendation is start with a ruger 10/22 and go from there. the people you will meet at a range and the more people you meet, talk with etc will elevate your gun knowledge and experience after a bit you will be better informed about whats out there when you see other folks using them and some people are friendly enough they may let you try their weapons.

any way good luck. if you decide to just jump right in good luck and get some training!!

First, let me make some recommendations. The Gun Digest Book of Combat Handgunnery by Massad Ayoob. (I know...this is the third time I've recommended this book on this forum in a week or so. No, I'm not getting a kickback.) There is info devoted to choosing a gun, holster, and on concealed carry. Also check out corneredcat.com. The website is from a woman's point of view, but there's plenty of good info there for men AND women. That site has one of the best guides to fitting a gun to your hand that I have seen.

Second, disclosure: I personally carry a Glock 30 for a variety of reasons. I'll try to keep my personal bias out of the rest of this post, but heads up!

Before you choose a carry gun, I think you should ask yourself some questions.

Do you plan to choose the gun first and dress around it? Or do you want a gun that fits in with what you already wear?

Are you male or female? How tall are you? What kind of build do you have? How big are your hands? These are all size and shape questions that will affect how the gun fits your hands, how a gun/holster fits your body for carrying, and even how you might be able to handle aiming and recoil.

Example: My wife (and a number of other women) likes to carry in the small of her back. A lot of men think they're going to like carrying there at first, until they sit in a chair with a hard back. Women, being curved differently, are more comfortable sitting with a gun in the small of the back than men (in general). She tried out my G30 before we got here a new carry gun. The heavier slide makes it a bit front-heavy for her taste. She could hit with it, but it required more effort and concentration (more time). So she went with a G27. It fits her hands for shooting and her body for carrying, and she can easily dress around it.

A full-size gun, like the G21, is naturally harder to conceal than a smaller gun. When you are thinking of concealment, remember to take all three dimensions into account: length (affected mostly by barrel), height (affected mostly by grip) and thickness (affected mostly by caliber and single vs. double stack magazine).

I have also fired Springfield XDs and Smith & Wesson M&Ps. They are good choices also, and are in a similar price range (in my area, at least) with Glocks. Some of the M&Ps also have interchangeable backstraps, which can help the gun fit your hand better.

And I'll leave you with this bit of wisdom that I stole from somewhere or other (I'd give credit if I could remember where):

A hole is better than no hole.
A bigger hole is better than a smaller hole.
More holes are better than one hole.

The first is most important, because it doesn't matter how hard or how often you miss. As for the other two, the debate will never end, because it's really a personal choice.

"After a shooting spree, they always want to take the guns away from the people who didn't do it. I sure as hell wouldn't want to live in a society where the only people allowed guns are the police and the military."
— William S. Burroughs

I love my Glock 30, and would recomend it.
But,
I'm not sure if I would recomend a semi-auto for a first handgun.
A good revolver is very reliable, and easier to care for.
My S&W 686 357mag is a rock solid weapon.

There are some people that are naturally good at shooting. I took a buddy out from work after I bought my XD 40 5". He was contemplating a decision similar to yours. I also took along a single-six (.22 cal) and model 64 (.38 special) so he could see what he liked. That SOB out shot me with my single six and shot as good as I did with my new XD. The only thing he had trouble with was double action. And he is considerably smaller than myself. He ended up getting an XDM 9mm and loves it and shoots it VERY effectively.

I know I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of those 19+1 rounds.

the p250 is not in the same price range. mmmhéhéhé, in the list, if i had the choice between 2 ugly guns and a nicer one, i would pick the nicer one..that doesn't mean more reliability.

a glock is near half the price (if you get a good deal) and very simple for field stripping and very reliable as any glocks.

Maybe you've got the Sig P250 confused with another gun. It costs all of about $50 more than a Glock.

If I were going .45acp for carry...for steel, I'd go with a 1911 Commander model. For polymer (which seems to be the poster's preference), the Glocks are good guns. But you owe it to yourself to exlore similar makes from Springfield XD and SW M&P. Sig makes great guns, but there's less of a track record in poly-land.

I believe the range that I've gone to offers the two Glocks (21 & 30) for rent, but not the Sig P250. I haven't asked about the Springfield XD. I'm going to try to run by there this Wednesday to see if I can shoot some or all of them.

utf59,

You made some good points. As far as my body type and dress: I'm about 5'11" and ~200 lbs (trying to go down to 190). My hands are on the larger, but skinnier, side. I don't plan on changing what I wear too much. I usually wear jeans and a t-shirt or polo shirt. I figure that might give me a problem as far as proper concealment, so I might start wearing a light jacket if the weather doesn't call for a heavy one.

JonM,

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm a US Marine; I have been for a little while now. I'm familiar with marksmanship principles for a rifle (M16) which I believe is what you are encouraging I learn first. I took a handgun safety course about a month ago which included shooting 50 rounds on the range. The distances were obviously much shorter than on a rifle range, but I used the same marksmanship principles and a few pointers from the instructor about the sights; I did pretty well. I used a .45 for that and it felt fine. I believe I used a S&W (don't know the model), but the grips felt a little large in my hand.

If you are receiving training, you should have no problem choosing a weapon. Good Luck!

Doesn't the US Marines train their soldiers to use sidearms? I don't know, I've never been in the services, but a friend of mine was recently honorably discharged and he's a hell of a shot with anything. (as much as I hate to admit it)